10 of the Unluckiest Movies Ever

In honor of Friday the 13th, we take a look at some very unlucky films.

September 12, 2013 4:01 PM

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APOCALYPSE NOW
* Monsoons
* Lead Martin Sheen suffered a heart attack while filming
* Took two years to edit
* Marlon Brando showed up overweight and not knowing his lines; he had to be filmed in tight shots with a body double for wider shots
* Francis Ford Coppola threatened to kill himself many times less

APOCALYPSE NOW
* Monsoons
* Lead Martin Sheen suffered a heart attack while filming
* Took two years to edit
* Marlon Brando showed up overweight and not knowing his lines; he had to be filmed in tight ... more

POLTERGEIST
* Five months after the film was released, 22-year-old actress Dominique Dunne was strangled by her ex-boyfriend
* After appearing in all three movies in the franchise, 12-year-old Heather O'Rourke died of cardiac arrest and septic shock caused by a misdiagnosed intestinal stenosis. less

POLTERGEIST
* Five months after the film was released, 22-year-old actress Dominique Dunne was strangled by her ex-boyfriend
* After appearing in all three movies in the franchise, 12-year-old Heather ... more

POLTERGEIST
* Five months after the film was released,... Photo-5182410.70138 - GreenwichTime

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REBEL WITHOUT A CAUSE
* James Dean was killed when he crashed his Porsche not long after filming was completed. He was 24.
* Sal Mineo was 37 when he was stabbed to death by a robber outside his home in 1976
*In 1981, a 43-year-old Natalie Wood drowned mysteriously while on a boat trip with her husband, Robert Wagner, and actor Christopher Walken, her co-star in the not-yet-completed film, "Brainstorm"
* Supporting actor Nick Adams also died at the age of 37 from a drug overdose, but rumors have persisted of possible foul play less

REBEL WITHOUT A CAUSE
* James Dean was killed when he crashed his Porsche not long after filming was completed. He was 24.
* Sal Mineo was 37 when he was stabbed to death by a robber outside his home in ... more

REBEL WITHOUT A CAUSE
* James Dean was killed when he crashed... Photo-5182411.70138 - GreenwichTime

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ROSEMARY'S BABY
Filming went smoothly enough, but after ...
* The film's composer died of a blood clot, just like a character in the story
* Director Roman Polanski's pregnant wife, actress Sharon Tate, and their unborn child, were killed, along with four others by members of Charles Manson's cult
Creepy coincidences abound:
* Polanski and Tate had recently bought the house from music producer Terry Melcher, who had refused to work with aspiring musician Manson
* Manson was obsessed with The Beatles. Years later, Mark David Chapman killed John Lennon outside his New York City apartment building, The Dakota, which served as the setting for "Rosemary's Baby"
* The Beatles wrote the song "Dear Prudence" about Prudence Farrow, sister of Rosemary herself, Mia Farrow less

ROSEMARY'S BABY
Filming went smoothly enough, but after ...
* The film's composer died of a blood clot, just like a character in the story
* Director Roman Polanski's pregnant wife, actress Sharon Tate, ... more

THE CONQUEROR
* This critically reviled 1956 biopic of Genghis Khan was shot in Utah, not far from the site of above ground nuclear testing by the U.S. government. By 1981, 91 of the 220 cast and crew members had come down with some sort of cancer, and 46 had died from it.
* They included star John Wayne, co-stars Susan Hayward, Agnes Moorehead and John Hoyt, as well as director Dick Powell
* Co-star Pedro Armendáriz developed cancer in 1960 and killed himself when the diagnosis turned terminal in 1963
* Additionally, two of Wayne's sons and Hayward's son, all of whom had visited the set, got cancer years later
* Producer Howard Hughes' mental problems were reportedly exacerbated by his guilt over the situation less

THE CONQUEROR
* This critically reviled 1956 biopic of Genghis Khan was shot in Utah, not far from the site of above ground nuclear testing by the U.S. government. By 1981, 91 of the 220 cast and crew ... more

THE CROW
* Star Brandon Lee died when he was shot with an improperly maintained prop gun during the filming of a scene. He was quoted as saying he had premonitions of the incident
*His father, movie star and martial arts legend Bruce Lee, also died mysteriously years before
*Before Lee's death, "The Crow" had already been plagued by numerous accidents and fires less

THE CROW
* Star Brandon Lee died when he was shot with an improperly maintained prop gun during the filming of a scene. He was quoted as saying he had premonitions of the incident
*His father, movie star ... more

THE CROW
* Star Brandon Lee died when he was shot with an... Photo-5182414.70138 - GreenwichTime

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THE MAN WHO KILLED DON QUIXOTE (never finished)
* The audio for the entire first location shoot near a military base in Spain had to redubbed due to near-constant fighter jets overhead
* A flash flood on the second day of filming ruined equipment and changed the color of the landscape, making previously shot film unusable
* French actor Jean Rochefort, who spent seven months learning English for the role of Don Quixote after a two-year casting search by director Terry Gilliam, suffered a double herniated disc on set and had to pull out
* The film was abandoned and several subsequent attempts at reviving it failed also less

THE MAN WHO KILLED DON QUIXOTE (never finished)
* The audio for the entire first location shoot near a military base in Spain had to redubbed due to near-constant fighter jets overhead
* A flash flood on ... more

TWILIGHT ZONE: THE MOVIE
* During the filming of one of the anthology film's segments, actor Vic Morrow and two child actors were killed instantly when a helicopter crashed on top of them, decapitating two of the victims less

TWILIGHT ZONE: THE MOVIE
* During the filming of one of the anthology film's segments, actor Vic Morrow and two child actors were killed instantly when a helicopter crashed on top of them, decapitating two ... more

TWILIGHT ZONE: THE MOVIE
* During the filming of one of the... Photo-5182416.70138 - GreenwichTime

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THE WIZARD OF OZ
* The troubled production cycled through four different directors
* Original Tin Man Buddy Ebsen suffered a severe allergic reaction to the role's aluminum makeup
* Even after the makeup was changed, new Tin Man Jack Haley got an eye infection
* Toto broke a paw
* Drunk Munchkins
* The Wicked Witch of the West, Margaret Hamilton, received burns to her face and hands due to a special effects mishap, causing her to recuperate at home for six weeks
* Even if it's been disproved, many still believe you can see a dead Munchkin hanging from a distant tree during one scene less

THE WIZARD OF OZ
* The troubled production cycled through four different directors
* Original Tin Man Buddy Ebsen suffered a severe allergic reaction to the role's aluminum makeup
* Even after the makeup ... more

THE WIZARD OF OZ
* The troubled production cycled through four... Photo-5182417.70138 - GreenwichTime

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THE OMEN
* Star Gregory Peck and writer David Seltzer each were aboard planes that were struck by lightning
* Another plane that the crew planned to use for aerial filming but was chartered last minute to another client crashed, killing everyone on board
* Director Richard Donner's hotel was bombed by the IRA during filming
* The day after the film's safari park scene was filmed, an animal handler was mauled by a lion while animal handlers involved in the cemetery scene were attacked by dogs
* Peck's son committed suicide before filming
* Several crew members were involved in a head-on car accident during the first day of filming.
Months after the film had come out, special effects director John Richardson and his assistant, Liz Moore, were involved in a car accident in The Netherlands. Richardson survived, but Moore was decapitated
* Legend has it that near the scene of the accident was a road marker reading: "Ommen: 66.6 km."
* Also, the accident took place on a Friday the 13th in 1976. less

THE OMEN
* Star Gregory Peck and writer David Seltzer each were aboard planes that were struck by lightning
* Another plane that the crew planned to use for aerial filming but was chartered last minute to ... more